Fall 2019: Graduation & Job Search

Fall 2019 Update:

I have some great news to write about today. First,  I graduated from UMUC August 25th.. Second, after months of job searching I have been offered a position for a full time programming job.

In terms of the first bit of good news, I suppose the question should be: was it worth it? For me, the answer is yes. In terms of cost, it was about 11,000 dollars for 13 courses. ($927 a course).  Keep in mind, I only had to take my major's courses because I changed careers; I already had a bachelor's degree that they accepted for non-degree courses. UMUC would be more expensive if you had to take all the 'core classes' that have nothing to do with coding. 

Should you go to college? It depends. If you're in my situation (late 20's, a career changer with a bachelor's degree already), perhaps it is best you do that so you have direction. The college courses motivated me to get over the 'hump'; I hate getting anything less than an A or B, so I strove to learn. However, if I were to redo it all at age 15-25, I would go to something like Lambda School and take Udemy courses. These are significantly more cost-effective, and with drive get you to the same place in terms of coding skill. Demonstrating skills on your portfolio and in the interview can get you the job. An exception may be a USAJOBS job with the government that has strict requirements.


Now on to the next bit of good news. After job searching for about 4 months, I've acquired a stable programming job! I actually acquired a remote part-time php developer position about 2 months ago, however, that job was, and is , more of a stepping stone. I appreciate the company (G-NET) and its owners; they are professional and pay-on-time. Keep in mind, I've probably applied to about 150-200 places; I've had 4 face-to-face interviews and 10-20 phone screenings. I've been rejected several times, but I've persevered and I've finally landed a good coding job in DC. At this moment, I don't want to say the name of the company because it starts in several weeks (I want to find more about their online presence policies). It pays between 60-70k, which is exactly the number I'd been hoping for because I was making about 52k teaching. I'm striving to make 6 figures within 5 years *crosses fingers*. Check out my video on youtube about the interviews: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4jEh_sjvoM


I'm excited to see what the future brings; I'll continue learning to code and growing my skillset. What this whole experience has shown me is that if you work hard, you're competent, and you have the right mindset, you can change your life and do better. :D :D